Chapter 6

"Are you guys going home yet?" Eva looked at me with her clear brown eyes. She stood up and placed the tray of cookies on the counter.

 

I hugged her for a moment, feeling again the scent of cookies lingering on the delicate old woman. "Yes, Ev. We've been sitting here for quite some time. It's good to see you again after all this time."

 

Eva smiled at me. "Come visit next time." She patted my shoulder kindly. The woman was always warm and pleasant.

 

I nodded, then set my sights on Jhonny behind the counter. "Jhonny, we're leaving first. It was nice to taste your milk tea again." I waved goodbye to him.

 

The old man was still wearing his glasses so he could see me. "Don't stop coming, Vanessa." He then looked at Andreas behind me. "Andreas, keep Vanessa coming to this place."

 

I looked to the side, where Andreas was standing. I saw Andreas smiling at Johnny. "Of course, we will continue to come together to this place." I glanced at him, who made the promise unilaterally.

 

We left the small cafe after saying goodbye. I unconsciously ignored my path properly because I was observing the atmosphere around me.

 

My foot accidentally tripped over a rock, which disrupted my balance. Andreas swiftly caught me with his burly hands. I can feel his muscles touching my stomach because his hand is there.

 

I almost fell over if he moved too late. In that position, I inhaled Andreas' masculine yet gentle body scent. It tickled the tip of my nose and sent strange signals moving around my body, like something was dancing in my stomach, and I started to feel my heart beating fast.

 

Oh, please stop this strange feeling!

I tried to push the strange feeling away from me and tried to plant my feet properly. It was a little difficult as I tried to stand properly, as my current feelings were quite confusing to me, but I finally stood back up and let go of Andreas' hand, which was still wrapped around me.

 

He lowered his face to look at me. "Are you okay?" He looked concerned.

 

I ignored him by not looking at her face directly and just nodded. Then, I quickly got into the car.

 

Inside the car, I let out a long sigh and took a deep breath. "Vanessa, throw away your strange thoughts," I spoke quietly.

 

Not long after, Andreas got in. I stared straight ahead, pretending to be casual so that he wouldn't know what I was feeling.

 

Andreas glanced at me. "We should get home now." He said as he started the car engine and drove out of the café courtyard.

 

"Yes," I replied to his words briefly.

 

Unlike leaving, which took a long time because of a bit of drama, the trip home was much shorter. We arrived home in just 20 minutes, and Mom and Dad greeted me warmly as we walked in and saw them sitting together enjoying tea.

 

Mom offered to prepare lunch for me, but I declined. I said I had eaten with Andreas and was tired, so I wanted to rest.

 

They permitted me. I went to the room, and after washing my face, I went to the bed and lay down.  I slowly closed my eyes.

 

I felt so comfortable that I fell into a deep sleep. As I fell asleep, I felt something warm moving on my cheek gently, rubbing gently. My nose felt like I recognized the smell of something that kept tickling the skin of my cheek. I opened my eyes slowly and stared at Andreas's face.

 

 

I quickly uncovered the thin dress I wore with the blanket, then looked at him nervously. "Wh-what are you doing here, Andreas?" I stopped his fingers from playing with my cheek.

 

He looked at me with his bright blue eyes. "You need to come downstairs soon, Vanessa. It's dinner time. Mom and Dad are waiting downstairs right now." He was being casual, ignoring my wary attitude towards him.

 

I sat on my bed and kept a little distance from her. "You can tell the waiter to call me."

 

He averted his eyes indifferently. "I volunteered to do it because I wanted to." Andreas looked back at me with a look that seemed to grip me tightly.

 

I stare at him in annoyance. Andreas acted up by ignoring my words yesterday. "You can call me then. Are you having so much fun watching my face while touching me?" I raised the tone of my voice.

 

Andrae's face was flat, but his eyes showed strong interest. "If you knew what I was thinking, you would be even more surprised. Because I want more than that, things that you might never imagine me capable of thinking, Vanessa." He spoke calmly, but it sounded like a threatening declaration.

 

My throat constricted, and I stared at him. My blood pressure rose and pooled on my face until my cheeks were warm and flushed.

 

I averted my eyes from him, then pushed his body away from me. Knowing what he was thinking, I got up from my bed, picked up the cardigan on the chair, and put it on. "Come on, they must be waiting." I invited her without looking back to see her.

 

I could hear Andreas' little yawns as I was about to walk out. I refrained from being provoked by his attitude because if that happened, I knew Andreas would be even bold. It wasn't long before Andreas came downstairs with me.

 

At the dining table, the four of us ate dinner quietly. Several waiters seemed to be guarding their positions behind each of us. After a long time, I felt that atmosphere again, being served and not serving like when I was still divorced and living with my in-laws.

 

"Vanessa, now that you've decided to take up the position as heir to the Hector family, you must study hard." Father looked at me.

 

I paused and stopped my meal, looking at my father with perfectly open eyes. I was a little surprised because I still hadn't planned anything.

 

"Honey, she stopped eating because you were talking about work. Let Vanessa finish her dinner first." My stepmother-Maria stared fiercely at my father. I wished she had known earlier what my father said so that she could prevent my father from talking about it.

 

I sighed softly and noticed Andreas glancing beside me. I ignored him because I didn't want to deal with him. "Dad, isn't it too soon?"

 

Father looked at me intently, a serious look on his face. "I don't want you to change your mind again, so the sooner, the better."

 

I looked at my father with a pitiable face. "But Dad, I won't change my mind-"

 

"Who knows? You might change your mind again because of something like that day." Andreas cut me off. I glanced sharply at him while holding my fork tightly.

 

Andreas is annoying. He's making things worse because he's making Dad raise his guard even more.

 

"It's true what Andreas said. I don't want to hear you argue anymore. You have to start learning about many things, so it will take a long time, so it's better to start as soon as possible." Father sounded like he didn't want to be argued with.

 

I had no other choice because, in the end, I did intend to live as Hector. "Alright."

 

Dad seemed happy to hear that. "Then you'll start studying with Andreas." Father pointed at Andreas, who raised his face and turned to me with a smile.

 

I furrowed my brow. "Why with Andreas, Father?" I protested.

 

Father was indifferent. He was casual. "Because Andreas is your brother, and he's the best teacher you could ever have. Haven't you heard the news about him? Andreas is a young businessman who highly influences the country's economy. He has his own company that he successfully manages." He explained by quoting one of the sentences in Andreas' article that I had read.

 

I nodded, but I still didn't accept it. "Yes, but like you said. Andreas has his own company that he needs to manage. He must be busy."

 

"No." Andreas shook his face. "I can teach you. For my dear sister, I'm certainly not busy at all."

 

Father looked at both of us. "You heard what Andreas said yourself. So stop protesting." Father made up his mind with Andreas' voice.

 

I looked at Andreas, who smiled winningly at me, and then his lips moved silently, "Stop protesting."

 

I started to feel uncomfortable. My gut feeling told me Andreas was going to do something to me since he now had access to get closer and control me.